Beating of a Transgender Woman

Summary: A woman (transgender) tried to use the bathroom at a McDonalds in Baltimore, and she got the crap beat out of her by two women. No one helped her until a little old lady came and told them to stop hitting her. There were other people there.

I don’t think there is anyone — or rather any rational, sane, intelligent individual — that could argue that this is wrong. If you’re reading this, and you are going to argue that it is wrong, please share your perspective in my comments section and kindly never visit my blog again.

I feel very strongly about gay, trans, straight, bi, etc sexual and personal rights. I’m not sure why — I think it started when I went to a women’s college (that was not attended by all women) from Arizona. I saw things I had not previously given any thought to — lesbian couples, trans-students, asexual students, bisexual students. I honestly didn’t really notice until a friend of mine pointed out how many different sexualities there were at Wellesley (for those of you who know me, this is not surprising as I frequently wander around in my own little brain-bubble of cartoons and science).

Then I read this book — And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts for a women’s studies class I took. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. It’s a thorough history of the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis that struck the population, spread to drug users, etc. I honestly couldn’t put the book down — the number of injustices that the gay population faced by the local, state, and federal system was astounding. No one would listen to the AIDS problem as long as it was affecting those “sinners.” People died, research moved at a staggeringly slow pace because no one would fund the “gay disease.” Anyways — that book really got me thinking about how far the gay community has come, and how many injustices it has faced along the way. Basically, if you are anything by straight-as-an-arrow straight, you have faced some serious discrimination.

Anyways, then I did a paper on the biological basis of homosexuality (in men primarily), and found a CRAP LOAD of evidence for it. Seriously there are strong links in genetics, in fetal hormone levels, etc. Studies that basically provide solid evidence that there are deep roots for homosexuality in biology that people have known since the early 1990s. So why then, has no one listened? Why wasn’t Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repealed earlier? Why is it only now that DOMA is not getting presidential support? We don’t discriminate against individuals who are born any other way — so why discriminate against homosexuals? (e.g. You’ll never hear someone say: “Ahh! Kill her, she’s a three-nippled fiend! She should have fought her odd third nub in utero!”)

It’s just fascinating how, when something does not jive with what we usually see, know, or believe then it must automatically be wrong. I know that much of this hate and intolerance is fostered by religion.While I myself am atheist, I believe that you can be a good Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc. without believing that God would damn all those who are homosexuals/trans/bi/etc. Because evidence indicates that sexuality is something you are born with, and no merciful God would make that something to torture you in life, on pain of damnation in the afterlife.